Reviewing the Redshirts is an off-season series meant to resurrect discussion around the current Irish freshmen who did not play in 2016.

There were 11 players who retained a year of eligibility this past year and today we look at a very raw pile of clay hoping to be molded into a sack machine.

DE, Adetokunbo Ogundeji

Hometown: West Bloomfield, Michigan
Height: 6-4 1/2
Weight: 251

247Sports Composite Ranking:

3-star, No. 42 WDE, No. 17 MI, No. 653 USA, 0.8584 score

Need at Position: Mild-to-High

Expected Spot on the 2017 Depth Chart: 3rd String

Be honest, you wouldn’t have been able to pick Ogundeji out of a lineup as a Notre Dame football player. Every year there are a few redshirts who are practically forgotten about and Ogundeji fits the bill for the 2016 class.

His recruitment had a little bit to do with that as he committed to Western Michigan in February 2015 and was then completely off the national radar. However, Ade picked up a few more D-1 offers and decided to leave P.J. Fleck’s class just a few months later. In the summer, he visited Notre Dame and it became quickly apparent he’d likely commit to the Irish–which he did in mid-July.

So, it’s been a bit of a perfect storm so to speak. Ogundeji committed not late enough to pop into our minds before National Signing Day plus his senior season ended after 4 games due to a knew injury. It’s been 18 months since he was discussed to any great degree and the most you may know about him is that he has a 18-size shoe and he’s about a year younger than all of his classmates.

This is Ogundeji’s first spring and as one would expect he’s largely a mystery. Physically, he’s on a very good track which is a good foundation for the future. When you look at his arm length and hand size he’s probably leading the whole roster in each category. He’s already put on about 25 pounds and is at a good weak-side pass rusher playing weight for an underclassman.

At his current weight we’ll see how Ogundeji continues to train as his frame likely makes him continue to pack on pounds and become a larger strong-side end. For now, he’s hanging on as a pass rusher and we’ll see if he can make some inroads for the rest of spring and into the summer.

We should probably inject a dose of reality here. The track record of developing these 3-star defensive linemen isn’t great for Kelly or Notre Dame. Perhaps it will be a special project for new DC Mike Elko but Ogundeji is about as raw as any recruit in recent years for the Irish. He has that body-type which makes his ceiling so much higher than some others and for that reason alone he’ll be someone with much more value when he grows up and has a few years in the program.